


Divorce?

by obs3ss1ons



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22241812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obs3ss1ons/pseuds/obs3ss1ons
Summary: Steve and Danny have been secretly married for years, but the team finds out because they're getting a divorce.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 44
Kudos: 269





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after Quinn joins the team, with Adam still part of the team. Otherwise, it completely ignores everything canon in season 10 simply because it didn't fit the tone of the story.
> 
> This is my first post for this fandom. I hope I did the characters justice.

“Is Danny coming back today, or did he extend his trip again?” Lou asked as soon as Steve arrived at 5-0 headquarters.

Walking up to where the team gathered around the table, Steve nonchalantly replied, “He should be back today.”

“What’s going on with him, anyway?” Lou added. “He’s sure been taking a lot of time off lately.”

Steve tried to act casual. He really did not want Lou to notice how uncomfortable his questions made him. “He’s spending time with his family.”

“Yeah, in New Jersey,” Lou pointed out. “That’s a long way to go for family visits as often as he’s been gone. He planning on moving back and leaving us or something?”

“Wait, what? Who's leaving?” Tani queried as she joined them at the table.

Junior stepped up beside her and said, “I heard New Jersey, so I’m guessing they’re talking about Danny.”

“Danny’s leaving?” Adam echoed as he and Quinn arrived.

Steve tried to hide the anguish he felt with the conversation. If only they knew the truth. But he and Danny had agreed to not make a big deal about what went on outside of the job. Yet, the team would find out part of it eventually. And that would lead to questions that couldn’t be answered without giving it all away. So he might as well make the inevitable announcement anyway and deal with Danny later. He was used to his partner yelling at him anyway. So Steve braced himself both physically and mentally before announcing, “Yes, Danny is leaving.”

“Just Five-0, or Hawaii?” Adam inquired.

“He’s moving back to New Jersey,” Steve managed to answer without giving away his emotions. Having his SEAL training ingrained in his brain still came in handy.

Shock and surprise emanated from the group. It was Tani who spoke up first by asking, “Why would he do that?”

“Because Steve and I are getting a divorce,” Danny stated from the doorway he’d just walked through. Steve kept his gaze focused on the table so he wouldn’t let anyone see his reaction to the words. Especially Danny. The man could read him too well, and he could not let on how much their mutual decision upset him. He still felt Danny approach his side, though his partner kept distance between them as he whispered, “I thought we weren’t telling them?”

“I wasn’t. Not all of it,” Steve bit out under his breath.

“Right. So what were you going to tell them, then?” Danny prodded, crossing his arms.

Steve shrugged and let his mouth tip at the corner. “It doesn’t matter now. You already told them.”

Tani cut into their not-quite-private discussion with, “How can you get divorced if you’re not actually married?”

Steve let his gaze briefly meet Danny’s. They might be separating, but they could still share the same thoughts. Their friends’ curiosity had been piqued thanks to Danny’s outburst. None of them would leave them alone until the whole truth came out. Danny broke the connection and shifted slightly farther away. Neither said anything, and neither looked at their friends.

A long silence dragged out. Tension and awkwardness filled the air. Steve wished for a case to come in and change the topic. But then he immediately rescinded that. A case meant someone was hurt or killed. He didn’t wish that for anybody. Besides, it would only postpone the conversation. Might as well get it all over with. Steve straightened and lifted his gaze to meet the curious stares from around the table. He gripped the edge to keep himself grounded and admitted, “We are.”

“You are what?” Lou prodded. “Married?”

“Yes,” Danny's hesitant voice said from beside Steve.

Adam asked, “Since when?”

Steve lowered his head again. Danny shifted once more, no doubt accidentally brushing his arm against Steve’s. This would be the hard part of the confession. Or rather, the beginning of the hard part. Admitting to the people who trusted them the most that they’d been lying to them. Steve let Danny start. “Since 2012.”

Tani coughed. Lou hummed. Junior rejoined the conversation with, “Why don’t you live together, then? I would’ve figured something out at some point if you did.”

Steve took pity on his fellow SEAL and roommate. “We tried living together once, before the marriage. It didn’t work out so well.”

“But you’re still married,” Quinn, who still didn’t know the team well, seemed the most confused.

Danny told her, “As of now, yes. It just hasn’t been a typical marriage.”

“You can say that again,” Lou agreed.

Tani pointed out, “You’ve both dated other people. Women, in fact.”

“Open marriage,” Danny explained. He sucked in an audible breath and explained, “We married for convenience more than anything. After Steve’s random disappearance and subsequent reappearance in which I had to jump through too many hoops just to save his life, we decided it would be easier for me to get information on his whereabouts and physical condition if I legally claimed to be his husband.”

“So let me get this straight,” Adam said, “You got married, without telling anyone, so Danny could know what was happening to Steve when he disappeared.”

“That’s correct,” Danny assured him.

Junior shook his head. “That’s crazy.”

“It’s unusual,” Quinn added.

Tani's opinion was, “It’s romantic.”

And Lou laughed as he stated, “It fits you two.”

Steve swallowed his bubbling emotions. It was true. Their marriage did fit them. Convenient. No strings. Open. Ending. They drifted apart somewhere over the last few years. Didn’t spend every possible moment together anymore. Went to others for help before each other. Steve didn’t know when, exactly, or why. It just seemed to happen. And neither attempted to stop it. So they found themselves in the process of dissolving their unconventional marriage so Danny could move back to his family. Leaving Steve behind to deal with their friends by himself. He still didn’t know how he was going to make it, though he’d at least had some practice not having Danny at his side lately. Enough to know he didn’t like it, but he didn’t want to stand in Danny’s way either.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day went about how Danny expected. Everybody kept giving him and Steve strange looks. Lou shook his head every time he saw them. Adam appeared to be sympathetic, which Danny wasn’t sure why. It’s not like he and Steve married for love. It was just a piece of paper that allowed Danny to know when and where he needed to find his daredevil partner and bring him home.

Yet something had bothered Steve during the confession with the team. And he avoided Danny more than usual all day, apparently preferring to work alone rather than just pairing up with Lou like he’d been doing. Danny let it go while they were at work, though. He tried to stay focused on the case they’d been asked to help with. That is until they figured out who the suspect was and the guy challenged Steve to a game of chicken on the freeway – without the safety of being inside one of the speeding vehicles.

Danny watched from the relative safety zone on the side of the road while Steve chased the suspect over and around cars slamming on breaks and blaring horns. Not just across the multiple lanes, either. No, they had to go running toward the oncoming deathtraps. Finally, Lou and Tani used their own vehicles to block traffic while Junior tackled the guy from the side. He was cuffed and dumped into the back of a newly arrived patrol car within minutes.

Danny tried to calm his racing heart before he exploded. After all, he was used to his partner doing dumb shit. And it’s not like it mattered to him anymore if Steve got himself killed. It wasn’t his problem anymore. However, as soon as he reached Steve, who stood with his hands braced on the hood of Tani's car catching his breath, Danny did, in fact, explode. “You stupid, suicidal, selfish bastard! What the hell do you think you were doing? You should be dead right now, under one of those cars that got in your way. You and the jackass you had to follow down the fucking freeway.”

“Danny-" Steve tried to break in.

He wasn’t going to let him, so Danny continued, “This is just another one of your attention seeking, death wish granting ideas that you don’t even think about! And let me tell you something, _Commander_. Things like that-" Danny waved his hand toward where Steve had chased the guy, “is why I’m leaving you!”

It was the wrong thing to say. Danny knew it as soon as the words left his lips. Shock flashed in Steve’s eyes before he shut down his expression. His face went completely blank. He turned his back to Danny and walked away. Danny heard Steve ask Lou for a ride to his truck. Lou mumbled something back and sent Danny a disapproving look before the two men climbed into the SUV. Danny spun around and headed toward where he’d left his own car blocking one of the on-ramps.

Danny locked himself in his office until he was sure everyone was gone. But even then he didn’t go home. No, he needed to make things right. Even if he and Steve weren’t going to be married anymore, he still loved the guy. And he’d said the one thing that would hurt Steve the most. He hated himself for it and knew his – partner? husband? friend? – did, too.

When he let himself into Steve’s house, Danny immediately heard the shower running upstairs. No problem. Steve took impossibly quick showers. So Danny sat on the couch to wait. Yet ten minutes passed, and the shower still ran. He gave it another five minutes, listening for signs Steve might be in need of help. Then he stood and went in search of the SEAL. He called out as he entered the bedroom. The bathroom door was open, and as he neared he heard another sound over the water. A sound that quite literally felt like it tore his heart in two.

Not caring about modesty or awkwardness, Danny moved the shower curtain. There was Steve, curled up on the floor under the spray. His knees pulled up, arms resting on them. His head lowered enough Danny couldn’t see his face. But he didn’t need to. He reached over and shut the water off, letting the sound of Steve’s sobs infiltrate the air. Fighting his own tears, Danny grabbed the towel hanging beside him. “Come on, Steven. Let’s get you dry and clothed.”

“Go away,” came the mumbled, garbled reply.

Danny grasped Steve’s arm and tried to lift him up. “No can do. We need to have a chat. I’d really like to not have it in your shower.”

Steve jerked his head up, glowering. “Then _leave_.”

The hidden meaning shattered Danny’s heart all over again. He gave up trying to move Steve and collapsed onto the floor just outside the tub. “No. I’m not leaving you.”

“You already said it, Danny,” Steve reminded him, sniffling through his quieting sobs. “So just go.”

Danny sighed. “I never should’ve said that. Okay? I was pissed. And scared. I’ve told you a million times before that I will never leave you. I didn’t mean what I said today.”

Another sniffle. “But you are. You’re leaving me. Everybody I’ve ever loved, ever trusted, has left me. Yet I always thought I’d have you. In a few weeks, I won’t have you either.”

That was true. Yet something didn’t sound quite right about it. Danny kept his voice quiet as he asked, “I thought you wanted me to go?”

“Why would I want the one person who's never abandoned me to move thousands of miles away?” Steve retorted.

“I don’t know! You're the one who started this whole divorce thing. You encouraged me to go back to Jersey,” Danny stated, his voice beginning to falter. “Hell, Steve, you told me I have no ties to Hawaii anymore.”

“Because Grace is the reason you came, and she’s back on the mainland now. With Stan out of the picture, you can just take Charlie with you.”

Danny ignored the tear sliding down his cheek. He swallowed his emotions. “What about you? When did I lose you?”

Silence descended. Neither looked at each other. The pipes creaked. Danny shifted his legs to keep them from going numb. Steve sniffled. And finally, after what felt like hours, Steve admitted, “I don’t know.”


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Danny asked.

Steve forced himself to look at his soon-to-be-ex-husband. A shiver ran through him that had nothing to do with his naked, wet body. He probably should dry off and put some clothes on. Their marriage of convenience didn’t mean Danny would appreciate seeing Steve fully nude. Then again, he’d walked into the bathroom while Steve was in the shower. He stood before he realized Danny still held the towel. Hoping he wasn’t blushing like a teenage girl, Steve held out a hand. “Can I – uh – have the towel?”

Torture training did not prepare him for standing in his shower while Danny’s gaze slid over his entire body. Especially since his partner still sat on the bathroom floor. Which meant he had to look up at Steve. His face had an odd expression that Steve had never seen. He wasn’t sure what it meant and didn’t have time to contemplate it since Danny snapped himself out of his trance and lifted the towel. “Here.”

His voice sounded strange. Steve chose to ignore it as he quickly dried off and wrapped the cloth around his waist. He stepped out and around Danny, saying over his shoulder, “I’m going to get some clothes on. We can go downstairs and get a beer while we finish our…talk.”

Not waiting for a reply, Steve escaped to his bedroom. He took his time finding and pulling on a t-shirt and sleep pants. Still, Danny hadn’t left the bathroom by the time he finished. So Steve went back to the doorway and stopped. Danny hadn’t moved.

“You need help up?” Steve asked hesitantly, remembering his partner’s knee injury from years ago. He didn’t get a reply. “Danny?”

“What are we doing?” Danny responded without looking up.

Steve shifted. “We’re – uh – standing in my bathroom?”

Danny looked up then, but he didn’t offer the are-you-stupid look Steve expected. Instead, he continued, “No, I mean, what are we doing? With each other? _To_ each other? We haven’t spent more than a few weeks apart in ten years. I agreed to marry you after stating rather loudly that I would never go through that again.”

“But it’s not like it’s a real marriage,” Steve reminded them both. “We aren’t going to fight over the phone every other day like you and Rachel did. We don’t-” Steve cleared his throat. “We don’t even need to speak to each other again after you leave.”

A sob ripped through the air. But it didn’t come from Steve. No, it came from Danny, who pressed a fist to his mouth. Without thinking, Steve dropped to the floor and wrapped his arms around his husband. He let his own tears fall again as he held Danny, who had finally allowed his emotions to escape.

They sat like that long after they’d both stopped crying. At some point, Danny slipped his arms around Steve’s waist, and they clung to each other. Neither said a word or bothered to move until Steve felt his stomach rumble. A half-laugh came from Danny, giving away that he’d heard the sound.

Steve pulled away and said roughly, “I guess we should get some food.”

“I don’t think I can stand up,” Danny mumbled. He looked up to where Steve had stood and gave a small but genuine smile. “My ass is numb.”

Holding out a hand, Steve helped Danny stiffly unfold himself from the floor. Once their faces were closer together, Steve murmured, “You’re the one who decided to sit on my bathroom floor.”

“Because you decided to act like a child and wouldn’t get out of the shower,” Danny grumbled.

“I told you to leave.”

Danny grabbed Steve’s arm as he turned to walk away. Their gazes met, and Danny stated, “And I told you that’s not happening.”

Just like that, their banter collapsed. Steve held Danny’s gaze, searching for a hidden meaning behind the words. Could Danny mean that he was staying in Hawaii? With 5-0? With him? He didn’t dare hope that’s what he meant. Breaking the contact, Steve headed out of the confined room and toward his kitchen.

He’d just closed his nearly empty refrigerator when he sensed Danny enter the room. “Looks like we’re ordering in. What are you in the mood for?”

“It’s your house. You decide,” Danny told him as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

Steve held up a hand and shook his head. “Don’t be like that. Don’t change the way you act around me.”

Their eyes met and held for several long seconds. Danny sipped his beer. Then he said, “Order from that new Thai place.”

Confusion crept into Steve’s thoughts. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “They don’t deliver.”

“Why would they not deliver? Who doesn’t deliver these days?”

“That place.”

They stared at each other again until Danny looked away and quietly queried, “Would you be up to going out for dinner then?”

Waiting a beat to make sure he heard right, Steve replied, “I think I can handle that. Just – uh – let me change. Again.”

Danny didn’t say anything, but he nodded once. Steve raced upstairs to his room and switched his sleep pants for jeans. Minutes later he rejoined Danny, who stood at the back door. He stayed quiet, sensing his partner was lost in thought. That is until Danny commented, “Do you realize how many times we’ve celebrated back there?”

Steve glanced out at his back yard. “Over the last decade? I’ve lost count.”

“A lot of those were just you and me. Small and big.” Danny pointed out.

“That’s true.”

Danny looked at Steve over his shoulder. “Do you remember when we last celebrated just the two of us?”

Sliding his hands into his pockets, Steve admitted. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Why did we stop?”

“I don’t know, Danny. I don’t know when. Or how. Or why. At some point we just stopped being _us_ ,” Steve declared. Then, quietly, he added, “And I miss us.”

Danny came closer and placed a hand on Steve’s chest. Their eyes didn’t meet, but Steve heard the truth when Danny said, “I miss us, too.”


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing Danny became aware of upon waking was that the sun was already out. The next thing he noticed was that he wasn’t alone in his bed. They weren’t touching, but he sensed the person’s presence. And as his brain woke up, Danny realized who the person behind him was. The shallow breathing and radiating heat came from Steve. His partner. His best friend. His husband.

Memories of the night before reflected in his mind. They’d decided to try to have a nice evening out like they used to. No talk about the divorce or Danny moving back to Jersey. Instead, they discussed the case they’d just wrapped up. How Grace was handling college. Charlie’s latest obsession – military toys, for which Danny fully blamed Steve. They talked about how Mary and Joanie were doing and if they planned to visit soon.

Once they finished dinner, they ended up going to a bar and sipping drinks while they continued to enjoy each other’s company. The conversation drifted among several various topics that Danny couldn’t really remember. But he did remember how relaxed they’d been. How happy Steve seemed, especially compared to the way Danny found him hours earlier. A mixture of guilt and pride flooded him at the knowledge that he caused both. He hurt Steve, possibly more than anyone ever had. But then he’d made it all better just by being with him.

The sheets rustled behind him, so Danny rolled over to meet Steve’s sleepy gaze. His partner yawned and then offered a hint of a smile. “Morning, Danno.”

Hearing the rarely used nickname caused Danny’s heart to swell. He hadn’t even realized he missed Steve calling him by what had once been a name only Grace was allowed to say. “Good morning, Steven.”

Steve ran a hand over his face and asked, “What time is it?”

Rolling back over, Danny grabbed his phone and lit up the screen. And groaned. “Late enough there’s no way we’ll get to work on time.”

“What?” Steve responded as he sat up. He searched for and produced his own phone. Then he quite literally jumped out of the bed. Danny watched as his partner found his jeans and pulled them on. Steve was at the bedroom doorway when he stopped and looked back at the bed. “Aren’t you going to get up?”

“I am. I’m just still amazed at how well the Navy trained you,” Danny admitted. He sat on the edge of the bed and waved a hand through the air. “Go start the coffee while I get dressed.”

Steve disappeared, and Danny let out a sigh. When they finally decided they shouldn’t drink anymore the night before, they’d discovered they were reluctant to part. Which was new. Sure, Danny hated when Steve went off on his random impromptu missions. And he missed him while he was gone. Those had never been for just one night, though. One night after which they knew they’d see each other again at work.

So Danny, mindful of Steve’s now-privy roommate, had suggested they sleep at his house. It happened to be Rachel’s week to have Charlie, so nobody would know that they’d refused to even be a room apart when they finally fell asleep in the middle of the night. Or that Steve had clung to him like he’d never let go again. Or Danny’s slow realization that he was okay with that.

After a quick stop for breakfast and a second cup of coffee, Steve and Danny made it to the office half an hour later than they should’ve. They walked in and were greeted with open stares and raised eyebrows from their team. Steve attempted to pacify their curiosity simply by saying, “Island time.”

Danny nibbled his lip. He’d learned early that island time meant whenever you happened to show up. Unfortunately, the excuse didn’t seem to even put a dent in Junior’s curiosity. “I’d believe that if it wasn’t for the fact that you never came home last night.”

The question the SEAL wouldn’t allow himself to ask was hidden in the statement. Tani, however, didn’t have the same level of self control. “Yeah, Boss. Where were you all night?”

Glancing toward Steve, Danny resisted the urge to slip an arm around him. The man stood completely still, barely keeping his tension from being visible. But Danny, as always, picked up on it. He couldn’t touch him without giving away the change in their relationship, so he used the next best thing. His words. “Steve helped me pack up some stuff and ended up falling asleep on my couch.”

“And this morning?” Lou chimed in.

Steve let out a long, audible breath and told them, “I was with Danny all night and this morning. Okay? No top secret mission. No kidnapping. Now can we drop it and get started on some work?”

“One more question,” Tani said.

“What?” Steve responded, not quite gruffly.

Tani wasn’t deterred. “Since you essentially stayed the night together, does this mean the divorce is off?”

It was Danny’s turn to sigh since Steve just walked away and hid in his office. Danny watched his husband as he informed the team, “No, nothing has changed there.”

“So you’re still leaving?” Junior asked.

Forcing his gaze away from Steve, Danny looked at the team. He shook his head. “That I’m not sure of.”

He went to his own office before anyone could ask him anything more. Once secluded, he pulled out his phone and typed out a message to Steve.

_We need to talk about it._

Mere seconds passed before he received a reply. _I don’t want to._

Danny grinned at his partner’s childishness. _I know you don’t, but we need to. Tonight? My place?_

No response came to that, so Danny looked toward Steve’s office. His husband sat staring at his desk, presumably where his phone rested. Then suddenly he picked it up, and Danny stood. He walked out of his office at the same time Steve announced, “We got a case.”

He gave the address, and everyone took off. Danny habitually slid into the passenger seat of his own car, handing the keys over as soon as Steve joined him. They didn’t talk the entire way to the crime scene. At all. Danny let Steve focus his mind on what they might find, what the team needed to do. If Danny distracted him by bringing up their impending divorce, Steve might miss something that could help solve the case. So he settled back into the seat and decided to wait patiently for the right time to tell his husband that he’d changed his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

They didn’t get to have their talk that night. In fact, the case kept them going for the rest of the week. Leads kept popping up and fizzling out. By the time the team caught the suspect in an anticlimactic end to such a frustrating case, they were all running on caffeine and adrenaline just to stay awake and alert. Steve learned that his body couldn’t function as well on a few hours of sleep as it used to.

The little sleep he did get throughout the week, however, was spent beside Danny. Their situation was never brought up. They didn’t even talk about the sleeping arrangements. Steve just followed Danny inside when he took him home at the end of the day and didn’t leave until the next morning. And Danny didn’t seem to mind having a shadow at night. He even let Steve borrow a pair of athletic shorts to sleep in.

So when Steve told the team to take the entire weekend off after locking up their suspect late on Friday, he kept to his new habit and collapsed on the sofa right beside Danny. He relaxed into the stuffed material, comforted by the heat of his partner’s hand brushing against his. But then Danny’s overly tired voice said, “We have a free weekend. We need to have that talk.”

“Won’t you have Charlie?” Steve managed to ask.

Danny shifted but didn’t move away. “No. He’s spending the weekend with a friend. I won’t have him until Sunday afternoon.”

Steve searched his mind for a reason not to discuss the divorce. If they didn’t talk about it, then he could enjoy the little time he had left with Danny and ignore the fact that the only person he still had was leaving him. Sure, he had the team. But he was so used to people abandoning him that he refused to let himself get close to them. The only one who had at all was Junior, and that was only because he lived with Steve and shared a background as a SEAL.

“Stop thinking so hard, Steven,” Danny mumbled.

“I’m too tired to think,” he admitted.

Danny huffed out what Steve assumed was supposed to be a laugh. “Then it’s a good time to talk about how you _feel_.”

Steve groaned, earning a soft chuckle from his partner. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Staring down at his clasped hands, Steve mumbled, “I’m not even sure what to say. You’re leaving. I’m staying. We’ll sign the papers, and it will all be over.”

He felt Danny move beside him and barely kept himself from flinching when a hand landed on his thigh. Then Danny’s low voice demanded, “Look at me, Steve.”

Tilting his head, he met his partner’s gaze. Pain reflected back at him. Pain and sadness and – surely he was mistaken – love. But that couldn’t be right. Danny wanted it this way. He wanted to move back home. Surely he wouldn’t fake those emotions just for Steve’s benefit. Maybe Danny just felt sorry for him. He’d already shown how much Danny leaving hurt him. And his husband hated knowing that someone was hurting.

“Babe.” Danny spoke gently. The hand on his thigh tightened. “I don’t want that.”

“What?” Steve jerked away in surprise. He had to have heard wrong. “You don’t want what?”

“To leave you.”

“But…”

Danny moved his hand from Steve’s thigh to rest over his still-clasped hands. They both looked down at them as Danny said, “I love you, Steven. I know I haven’t said it a lot recently, but it’s still true. And I think, no, I know that my love has grown. I was just too stupid to realize it.

“I’m not sure what happened to make us pull away from each other. Maybe we just got too comfortable. Maybe we fought too hard to hide our feelings. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I don’t want to leave. Not Hawaii. Not Five-O. Not you. Especially not you.” Danny pulled his hand away only to wipe at tears trickling down his cheek.

Steve swallowed hard. He didn’t know what to say. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what to feel right then. Relief. Hope. Elation. Fear. Shame. He sucked in a deep breath and held it. Then he let it out very slowly. “Okay. Umm…that’s good. Right? I mean, this is what you want, isn’t it? You’re not…not just saying it. Are you?”

A growl came from Danny a second before Steve felt his head being grabbed and lips pressing to his. It was rough. Quick. And full of answers. Steve backed away slowly when Danny let go of him. He watched his partner lick his lips. His heart rate sped up. He searched Danny’s gaze, not quite letting himself believe that just happened. Then Danny stated, “If that doesn’t tell you how serious I am about this, then I don’t know how to help you.”

Steve laughed before he could stop himself. It sounded hysterical, felt the same way. Danny stared at him with an eyebrow raised. He couldn’t find the words to express how happy he was in that moment. His brain was still barely functioning. So he borrowed his partner’s solution. He grasped the side of Danny’s neck and brought their lips together. This time it wasn’t quite as rough. Steve kept it slow and gentle.

He pressed several quick kisses to Danny’s lips as they reluctantly parted. They rested their foreheads together, sharing air as their breaths calmed. Danny licked his lips again. His voice sounded rough as he pointed out, “As much as I enjoyed that, I am ready to pass out. What do you say we move to my very comfortable bed?”

Steve opened his mouth to offer the response that popped into his mind but then realized he was too tired to even voice it. So he simply nodded and stood. Danny sent him a curious look before standing and grasping his hand. Steve let himself be led to the bedroom, where they disentangled their fingers so they could strip off their dirty clothes. Once they were both comfortable enough to sleep, they crawled into what had become their sides of the bed. Immediately they wrapped around each other, getting as close as they could possibly get. Steve kissed the side of Danny’s neck, earning one to the top of his own head and a whispered, “Good night, Steven."

He mumbled in reply and attempted to shift closer. He rested his head on his husband’s chest, his ear directly over his heartbeat. The soothing thump-thump mixed with the steady rise and fall of Danny’s chest relaxed Steve more than the ocean ever could. It helped him know that the evening’s events really happened. It wasn’t an exhaustion induced dream. Danny was staying. He wasn’t leaving him. And with that comforting thought, Steve’s mind slipped into the best sleep he’d had in years.


	6. Chapter 6

Anticipation was not something Danny Williams handled easily. He dealt with it a lot at work, and yet he still hated the feeling. The waiting and knowing something was about to happen that could be either really good or really bad. As he sat at his kitchen table staring at the clock on the wall, his fingers tapped a fast rhythm. His leg bounced to the same pace until a cramp broke into his marathoning mind. He massaged the protesting muscle and checked his phone for the two-millionth time.

He’d woken up next to Steve again. Or rather, under him as his husband lay sprawled with half his body pinning Danny to the bed. Neither tried to untangle from the other until their growling stomachs compelled them to get out of bed in search of food. After a leisurely breakfast, Steve announced that he was going to run home to get some fresh clothes. He didn’t linger, didn’t kiss Danny goodbye. Didn’t tell Danny that he loved him.

The sound of a vehicle pulling into his driveway instantly eased the cramp and his building anxiety. Danny shot out of the chair. He opened his front door before Steve had a chance to exit his truck. Leaning against the doorjamb, Danny watched his partner sling a bag over his shoulder. His heartbeat picked up as Steve sauntered toward him. As soon as he was near enough, Danny pushed away from the doorway. He grabbed Steve’s head and tugged him down so he could claim his mouth.

Steve pulled away first. He stared down at Danny and asked, “Is this how you’re always going to greet me now?”

Huffing, Danny slapped at his chest, turned, and walked inside. He went straight to the kitchen in search of…something. It was too early for a beer. Too late for coffee. So he stood staring at the cabinets until he sensed Steve enter the room. Danny forced himself not to look at his husband who hopefully would not become his ex. He probably thought Danny had lost his mind. They were still talking things over. Hadn’t made any decisions yet. And here Danny was acting like he missed him in the hour he’d been gone. He was being clingy.

A hand clasped his shoulder at the same time Steve’s voice cautiously asked, “Is everything okay?”

Pressing his palms against the counter, Danny nodded and managed to reply, “Of course.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Steve remarked. Danny felt him shift around behind him. The hand on his shoulder disappeared. Then Steve added, “Did you not want me to come back?”

Danny spun around. “Why the hell would I not want you to come back?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. You just ran off so quick after you kissed me. I thought…”

“You thought what?” Danny picked up when his partner stopped. “That I regretted kissing you?”

Another shrug. “I have no idea what to think anymore.”

Danny sighed. He moved the five steps it took to reach Steve. His hands clasped around his friend’s biceps. “I always, _always_ want you to come back to me. I. Love. You.”

A smile graced Steve’s lips, though it wasn’t quite full-on. He turned and headed out of the room, calling over his shoulder, “What are we going to do today?”

He still didn’t say it. For some reason Danny couldn’t figure out, Steve wasn’t telling him he loved him. He’d dodged it three times. And wasn’t that part of their problems? No communication. Well, that was going to stop. Danny followed Steve into the living room. Stopping a few feet from where Steve lounged on the sofa, he placed his hands on his hips and demanded, “Do you still love me?”

Steve’s gaze flicked from the TV to Danny. “Of course I do.”

“Then say it.”

“What?” Steve honestly looked perplexed at the concept.

“Say it. Tell me you love me,” Danny requested. He watched thoughts and emotions play over Steve’s face. Too quick to catch what any of it meant. Danny sighed and dropped his hands. “I get it. I understand it all now.”

He pivoted and walked out of the room. Not sure where to go since leaving his own house was out of the question, Danny retreated to his bedroom. He sat on the bed and stared at the floor. It all made sense. Why Steve brought up getting divorced. Why he told Danny he had no ties to Hawaii. It was because at some point in time, Steve had decided – or discovered – that he no longer loved him. The realization stabbed Danny in the chest harder than being shot had. Definitely more painful.

A small sound caught his attention. He glanced up to see Steve standing in the doorway. At least he had the decency to appear unsettled. He hid his relief well. Danny lowered his head again. “You don’t have to keep pretending, Steve. It happens. I don’t blame you.”

“I love you, Danny,” Steve said, barely above a whisper. Danny felt him enter the room and sit beside him. They didn’t touch.

“Don’t think you need to say it for my benefit,” Danny argued.

Steve sucked in an audible breath. “I’m not. I do love you. I’m just…well, I’m scared to admit it.”

Danny’s head snapped up, his gaze searching Steve’s. “Why are you scared of that now? We’ve said it for years.”

“Because it has more meaning now. It means I can’t live without you.” Steve dragged a hand over his wet face. He looked away from Danny and added, “It means that once I admit it, you’ll leave me.”

Silently cursing every single person in Steve’s life, including himself, Danny slid his arms around his husband. He pulled him close, stroking his hair as Steve cried. Danny didn’t think either of them had cried this much in their entire lives. Something needed to be done to make it stop. To end their pain.

Once Steve calmed, Danny pushed him away just far enough to look into his eyes. He held them for several long seconds before stating, “As long as I have a choice, I will not leave you, Steven McGarrett.”

Steve sniffled and asked, “What about the divorce?”

“What divorce? I’m not letting you go. We can go put a stop to that whole mistake first thing Monday morning,” Danny told him.

“You’re not leaving?”

Holding back a laugh at his partner’s innocence, Danny shook his head. “How many ways can I say it? You can’t get rid of me. I’m keeping my job. I’m not moving to Jersey. You’re mine. I’m yours. It’s a forever kind of deal.”

Laughter cut Danny off. He watched Steve, whose face glowed. His eyes sparkled. He smiled. He was happy. And that made Danny happy. So he kissed him. Steve pulled back and grinned. “I love you, Danno.”

“I love you, Steven,” Danny replied happily. Then he added, “And one more thing…”

“What’s that?” “I’m moving in with you. Permanently.”

Steve let out another small laugh. “Can’t wait to tell Junior that.”


	7. Chapter 7

Telling Lou that he needed him to cover for both Steve and Danny Monday morning no doubt opened up the team’s curiosity all over again. They’d been so busy over the last week that nobody mentioned their impending split. So it was no surprise that every single team member came out of their offices when they arrived just after lunch.

And of course Tani was the first to attack them with, “Where have you two been all day? Just left us to fend for ourselves. Some parents you are.”

“We left you with Uncle Lou,” Steve quipped without missing a beat.

Lou placed a fist on the edge of the table and added, “Yeah, and Uncle Lou wants to know the same damn thing.”

Steve glanced at Danny, who stood just behind him. His partner stepped forward and told everyone, “We were at the courthouse.”

The mood instantly changed. The team seemed to tense. Steve checked with Danny again. They hadn’t exactly figured out how to tell their ohana what they’d done. But Danny seemed to have an idea if the minuscule smile he offered Steve meant anything. Steve watched as Danny oh so casually ran his left hand over his perfectly styled hair.

Quinn caught it. “Are you wearing a ring?”

“Since when do you wear a ring?” Junior asked.

Danny looked at his hand where a plain titanium band rested on his ring finger. “Since about an hour ago, I guess.”

Steve ran his thumb over the matching band on his own left hand hidden inside his pants pocket. It had been a last minute suggestion from Danny when they left the courthouse. A symbol that they really meant to stay together forever. Neither cared what it looked like, and the jeweler happened to have two in their sizes of the same one. They each bought one and slipped them onto each other’s fingers sitting in the Camaro outside the jewelry store.

“Why would you start wearing a ring after getting divorced?” Adam inquired.

Steve and Danny shared a secret look they’d perfected over the years. Without saying a word, Steve pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. His ring pressed into the flesh of his other arm. The movement worked. Both Junior’s and Tani’s eyes widened at the same time.

“You didn’t get divorced,” Junior stated.

“You bought matching rings,” Tani added.

“What the hell happened over the weekend?” Lou questioned.

Steve ducked his head as he felt his face warm. Thankfully Danny answered, “We talked. A lot. And we realized that we’ve been idiots. We are not divorcing. I am not leaving. He can’t live without me.”

“That’s for sure,” Lou inserted.

“And I don’t want to live without him,” Danny continued. “So we’re staying married. But, it’s going to be different.”

“How so?” Quinn asked.

Glad Danny got through the hard part, Steve spoke up, “For one, we won’t be seeing other people anymore. Two, it will no longer be a secret. Three, Danny’s moving in with me.”

Junior straightened up. Tani and Lou looked his way. He said, “What does that mean for me? Am I being kicked out?”

Shaking his head, Steve told him, “That’s up to you. You’re still welcome to stay as long as you want or need.”

“I’m thinking it might get a bit crowded with three of you,” Tani commented.

Junior nodded. “I agree.”

Adam smirked as he inquired, “Don’t you only have two rooms?”

Danny cleared his throat. He shared a look with Steve before replying, “That, uh, won’t be a problem. Junior can keep his room.”

“So this is going to be a real marriage now,” Quinn pointed out.

“Yeah,” Steve managed through a dry mouth and throat clogged with emotion. He felt Danny’s fingers brush against his hip. That small touch helped him relax a little bit.

Lou shook his head and let out a small laugh. “Well, congratulations on finally figuring out what everyone else has known since the day we met you.”

Danny slid an arm around Steve’s waist. Steve placed his around Danny’s shoulders. Tani teased, “Aww, look how cute you two are now. Just remember, though, the kids don’t want to see any PDA from the dads.”

Everyone laughed except Danny, who turned and buried his face in Steve’s chest, and Steve, whose face was suddenly on fire. Thankfully, Lou saved them by saying, “We already have to see it every day. I don’t see how it could be any different.”

Quinn responded, “Aren’t you married?”

“Happily,” Lou told her.

She gestured toward Steve and Danny but spoke to Lou. “Then you were a newlywed once.”

“Oh, trust me, the honeymoon is way over,” Danny declared, having lifted his head but not moved away. Steve didn’t hide the hint of hurt the words caused. How could it be over when they’d barely started? His husband read his expression correctly and informed him, “That phase was over when you tried to break my arm and I retaliated by punching you in the face.”

“That was the day we met, Danny,” Steve reminded him.

His partner grinned. “I know. And people have been commenting on our marriage ever since due to our constant bickering.”

“So you skipped over the honeymoon phase,” Adam remarked, forcing Steve and Danny out of the bubble they’d built around themselves.

Junior cleared his throat. “I think I’m going to start looking for my own place.”

“You can stay with me until you find something,” Tani offered. “I have an extra room.”

Quinn held up her hands. “I’m beginning to wonder if I made a mistake joining this group. Too many lovebirds.”

Lou laughed. “I’m sure you won’t be left out for long.”

“Am I missing something?” Junior asked. The entire group burst into laughter.

Steve squeezed Danny’s shoulders and answered the younger SEAL, “It’s nothing you need to worry about. You’ll figure it out someday.”

“Just please don’t take as long as those two did,” Lou pleaded, earning a groan from Danny and snickers from Adam and Quinn. Tani stayed suspiciously silent, standing next to Junior who still looked lost. Steve looked at Danny, who smiled back at him. Staring into those blue depths, Steve wondered how he’d ever thought he could live without Danny at his side. And as of that morning, he had proof that he never would.


End file.
